Team India coach selection: Kumble, Shastri in race; the ball is now in BCCI’s hands

New Delhi:Team India’s prolonged search for a good coach reached its final stage after Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) on Tuesday interviewed former India captains Anil Kumble and Ravi Shastri among a host of other candidates.

CAC will submit its final report over selection of Team India’s new coach to BCCI by Wednesday evening.

Three-member committee including Sachin Tendulkar (via video conference), Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, interviewed as many as seven candidates in a marathon session during which the candidates gave insight on their individual roadmaps for Indian cricket.

While Kumble appeared for the interview in person, Shastri, who is out of the country, appeared for the interview via Skype. Among the foreign applicants, former Australian players Stuart Law and Tom Moody also gave their presentations via video conference.

Interestingly, a high profile candidate like Sandip Patil was not called for the interview while former India players Lalchand Rajput and Pravin Amre got the opportunity to make their case.

“I was not invited for an interview,” Patil, who is currently the head of national selection committee, told PTI.

Amongst other foreigners, Andy Moles, an Englishman who has coached New Zealand national and Afghanistan in the past, also gave his presentation via video conference.

The final announcement is likely to be made by the BCCI president on June 24 on the sidelines of the Board’s Annual Conclave in Dharamsala.